Honeycomb cellular structures are known and widely used in the aviation industry. For example, U.S. Patent App. No. 2004/0048027 to Hayes et al. discloses a honeycomb core product for use in the leading edges and ailerons for aircraft wings and airfoils. The honeycomb core product is positioned on the leading edge of wing and is covered by an outer skin member and attached to a structural support member. U.S. Patent App. No. 2004/0048027 is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Honeycomb structures have also been used as flow discouragers in gas turbine engines for jet aircrafts. For example, U.S. Patent App. No. 2012/0163955 to Devi et al. discloses a honeycomb-shaped flow discourager in a gas turbine. FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of the interface between a rotor 10 and stator 12 in a gas turbine engine. FIG. 2 illustrates a close up view of the interface shown FIG. 1, including a honeycomb-shaped flow discourager 14. The stator 12 remains stationary relative to the rotor 10, which turns due to the force of combustion gasses moving past the rotor vanes 16. A portion of the combustion gas 18 leaks through the interface between the rotor tip 20 and the stator 12, reducing the efficiency of the engine. To reduce leakage, a flow discourager 14 is placed at the interface between the stator 12 and the rotor tip 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The rotor tip 20 moves past a portion of the honeycomb structure 22 of the flow discourager 14 defining a rub path 24 as shown in FIG. 3. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the honeycomb cells 22 have the same geometry including having the same relative wall thickness and contours. U.S. Patent App. No. 2012/0163955 is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.